Australians Warned As New Scam Arrives

Scammers are impersonating National Broadband Network (NBN) staff in an attempt to con unsuspecting consumers into handing over their personal details.

The new breed of fraudsters are cold-calling households asking for names, dates of birth and Medicare numbers that could unlock bank and superannuation accounts.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's (ACCC) Scamwatch has revealed they have seen a huge spike in NBN-related complaints where scammers have attempted to sign customers up for fake accounts with the promise of low-cost NBN.

The watchdog's deputy chair Delia Rickard said 316 complaints had been received this year, where unwitting consumers had lost thousands of dollars.

"Their goal is to either get hold of your money or personal information.

"If you get an unsolicited call like this, it's a big red flag that you're dealing with a scammer."

The ACCC said that the NBN calls are becoming more frequent as the project reaches its 2020 deadline for completion.